Turkish prosecutors have probed Cumhuriyet newspaper after it published excerpts from the latest Charlie Hebdo issue which features cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. It comes after a ban was ordered on websites uploading the cartoons.

The secular Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet published
black-and-white excerpts from Charlie Hebdo’s latest issue in two
of its columns on Wednesday. The reprint was aimed as a gesture
of solidarity with the French satirical magazine, whose office
was attacked by gunmen last week, Cumhuriyet editor-in-chief Ufuk
Cakirozer said on Twitter.

Police came to inspect cars containing the publication to make
sure the issue did not contain any reprints of Charlie Hebdo’s
cover cartoon, which features the Prophet Muhammad in tears, the
daily said. The newspaper was not running the cover, Cumhuriyet’s
editor-in-chief said.

“When preparing this supplement and while holding up our
editorial guidelines we have been attentive to religious
sensitivities and freedom of religion in our society,” he
tweeted on Tuesday. “Following long consultations we decided
not to include the cover.”

Although the cover cartoon was omitted and authorities eventually
gave the green light for distribution, an investigation was still
launched. It found that two columnists had inserted a thumbnail
of Charlie Hebdo's cover into their writing.

The two will now be summoned by the Istanbul Prosecutor's Office,
Hurriyet news reported. They may be charged with inciting hatred
or hostility.

This comes after the country's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
slammed the newspaper, saying that Turkey "will not allow
insults to our Prophet.” Islam prohibits the prophet from
being pictured. In Turkey, where over 95 percent of the
population is Muslim, insulting the faith is a crime punishable
with jail.

On Wednesday, a court of the southeastern Turkish city of
Diyarbakir ordered the country’s telecommunications authority to
ban access to four websites which published the cartoon of the
prophet.

The ban followed a complaint filed by a local lawyer, saying that
the websites were a danger to "public order,” Anadolu
news agency reported. Ankara also condemned the publications of
the cartoons, calling them an "open provocation.”

"Freedom of the press does not mean freedom to insult,"
Davutoglu said at a media conference in Ankara on Thursday. He
stressed that Turkey condemns the Paris attacks, but also wants
to protect the honor of the prophet.

Following the publication of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons by
Cumhuriet, protesters gathered outside the Turkish daily’s HQ,
local media reported. They held a demonstration against the paper
reprinting the cartoons. The newspaper’s staff also reportedly
received death threats following the publication.